Harry Potter and the Show of the Rose
by youngwriter56
Summary: Harry gives up everything to fulfill his destiny to find that he was getting more help than he thought. New jawdropping DADA teachers, roses, home at Hogwarts,lockets,RAB, weddings, and confusing winks.HBP spoilers.Wanted:more reviews.hehe.
1. A summer with the Dursleys

It's my FIRST UN-ROMANTIC COMEDY FIC! HEHE.

I hope it's good.

There's too much to write in the summary thing but it only lets you write a bit so here's a general summary of the story.

Harry, Ron, and Hermione, now 17 and ready to face the war against Voldemort go through one hellish year of discovering the truth, the past, and the future of their destiny. As the war wears on, battles become fiercer and less sparing, yet the threesome find their way through each obstacle and turn to defeat the purpose of their trauma… and existence.

La la!

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

_Dear Hermione, Ron._

_Hah. I know you miss me but you two will have to wait until August 1st, just the day after I have my big 1 7. The Dursley's have been really the same, maybe a little quirky here and there, trying to help me drag my suitcase up the stairs and stuff. What Dumbledore told them last year must have really hit them hard. Especially Aunt Petunia._

_Well it is their last month stuck with me so I guess they're being good sports about it. Dudley and Uncle Vernon have been just as ignorant of me… maybe a bit nicer. They actually say "Good morning" to me when I come down for breakfast. And Aunt Petunia… well, she's really trying her best not to blow up and lock me up in the cupboard, but she's doing swell. She took me shopping once, even though I didn't enjoy it much, and keeps muttering that boys are supposed to stop growing by 15. Too late now._

_I've been less bored and done a lot of my summer work load –there's the pat on the back from Hermione. Really. I finished most of my stuff except potions and I'm going to hand it all to Professor McGonagall and tell her I'm not going back. I hope she understands. _

_I'm not sure where you guys are- if you're still at the burrow or if you've moved back to the headquarters. If you guys moved back to… Sirius' place… I'm not so sure about going there after being with these muggles._

_Don't worry about me, guys. I'm having a blast really. I found one of Dudley's love letters he wrote and I'm holding it against him. Blackmail is fun._

_And about how I'm doing, I'm perfectly fine really. I mean, sometimes…_

_Nevermind. I'll tell you guys in person. _

_And I hope you guys haven't started snogging or anything. You guys know you like each other so just get over yourselves and make something of each other. I'm fine. I'll just have to side up with Ginny whenever you guys get… intimate. Haha. _

_How IS Ginny by the way? Well tell her I said hi._

_I'm off now. Dudley has come into my room with a box. I wonder what it is._

_Love always_

_Harry._

"What do you want." Harry asked.

"Mum told me to give this to you. It's all the clothes that are too small for me."

"And I'm supposed to fit them? I'm honored."

"Why don't you just take it and let me leave?"

"Fine." Harry grabbed the box from his hands and put it down next to his bed. "I accept all your old clothes that are too small for you. Happy?"

"Yeah. Yeah. You know what? I am."

"Is… what's her name… Sally Johnson happy? 'Oh Sally, I can't stop to think of you when the sun shines from the hills. You're all that's in my head in middle of my drills. Your smile brightens my day like a plate of pancakes. I can shower you with presents and cakes.' Was there more?" Harry recited in a sing-song voice.

"You shut up!" Dudley exclaimed angrily.

"Yes sir. But only because you brighten my day like a plate of panc-"

Dudley stomped away, shaking the whole house.

Haha. Blackmail was fun.

Harry sat on the edge of his bed, pulling out each article of clothing. Mostly everything was too small- lengthwise. He dragged the enormous cardboard box to the edge of the room.

At the corner of the room, he met his small bedside table. On top was a photo frame of his parents, waving and smiling happily. Harry smiled and waved back. How he's lost them all… how he's lost Sirius and Dumbledore…

Shaking his head, Harry banged his head on the closet door once and walked over to the window. Cars zoomed by and people walked down the streets. So innocent, so happy, so into their own little worlds that they had no idea that the boy stuck up in the room of number 4 Privet Drive may one day save all of their necks.

Nothing interesting ever happened. Entertaining himself with blackmailing Dudley was the only source of amusement he ever got.

Minutes ticked by, and then hours. Everything looked the same as it did 4 hours ago. The only thing interesting enough was when a young girl had come up to Ms. Figg's house.

He had heard the unmistakable snap. He craned his neck to watch out the window.

He could not see her face. Just her shoulder length brown hair. She walked in a very calm matter… almost floated to Mrs. Figg's doorstep.

When the old woman came out with a container of cat food, the girl handed her a letter.

"Hello. You are Miss Figg?"

"That is me, yes. You are…"

"Ali. I'm here from the Order but first… I must ask you some verification questions."

"That is rubbish!"

"I know I know, but it is mandatory. First of all, how many cats do you own total now?"

"4."

"Okay. What is your favorite color?"

"Purple."

"Thank you." The girl named Ali took out an envelope from her jean pockets.

"This is a message from the Order."

Mrs. Figgs took the letter and opened it. Here eyes came large.

"What-"

"No worries, Miss. Remus has told me to report to you that everything will be continuing normally without the presence of Albus Dumbledore…"

Harry heard no more.

He couldn't.

Which is why still a full hour later, Harry was still lying on the bed, thinking of what would taste good with strawberry jam.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

_Dear Harry._

_Hey Harry. Sorry for the long delay._

_They don't want too much owl communications so we're limited to once a week._

_Bloody stupid rule if you ask me._

_Ron! It's for our best._

_Whatever._

_Anyway, we're totally glad you're okay and at least having some fun. We're at the burrow so don't worry about coming in August. Fleur and Bill's wedding remember? They've moved it to August 2nd just so you can attend. _

_Haha. That fat guy and love letters? You must be having the time of your life. _

_Now really._

_We've been doing okay. Er… not snogging or anything… yet._

_NOW REALLY._

_Jesus, Hermione. Mum is really rubbing off on you._

_Now re- yeah. I guess. Ginny's doing fine as well. I heard you guys called quits. It's rather disappointing. You two were so cute together._

_Uh… sure. Well, she's officially on a boy break. Good for us, eh?_

_You mean good for you. And she's not on a boy break. Between you and me, Harry, just so Ron doesn't blow up, she's already got her eyes on a new target._

_WHAT?_

_Shh… not to make you feel bad or anything… right? _

_WHO IS IT?_

_I'm not tellinggggg._

_Pl- man, Hermione. I love it when you get all sing-song-y._

_Mm.. really?_

_Ye-ah._

…

…

…

_Heh. Whoo! Sorry for the delay, Harry. Uh… something happened._

_Yeah. We weren't making out or anything._

_Ron!_

_Hermione!_

_Uh… anyway. Things here are okay. We're all a bit down but with a wee bit of coach-y talks, we've mostly lightened our moods and the Order is trying as hard as ever. Lupin's in charge. Really great for him too- he works really hard. Oh! And he and Tonks are now officially… a thing. They're really cute._

_Sure thing._

_They're recruiting too. It's great. We have much more people now._

_Yeah._

_Ahh… we better go. It's time for dinner. We all can't WAIT for you to come. Hope you have a swell time. And if you get bored, we've sent you a little something to do._

_You'll love it!_

_Whatever. And Harry-I am so happy that you've finished your work! You have no idea how much I lectured Ron about it after you sent us that letter._

_Way to go, mate. She's forced me to do 6 essays already._

_And remember Harry- we'll always be there for you._

_That's right. _

_Love always_

_Ron _

_Hermione_

Laughing, Harry ripped open the package. Dozens of carefully wrapped presents came flowing out. There were numerous merchandise from Fred and George's shop (from Fred and George), a package of books (from Hermione), a one player set of Wizarding Chess (from Ron), a lovely mince pie (from Mrs. Weasley), nifty defense against dark arts utensils (from Lupin) and Harry chuckled at a package of flying toy brooms, edible death marks, and Hungarian Horntail tattoo stickers came tumbling out. They were from Ginny.

Found a new target? Well…

That was great for Ginny. On the train ride back home, they had declared themselves friends for life.

Munching on the pie and opening up his chess board, Harry waited for August to come around the corner.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

-When August came around the corner-

"Happy birthday, Harry." Aunt Petunia said as Harry came stumbling down the stairs. She gave him a tense hug to make it seem warm.

"Happy birthday." Uncle Vernon barely just groaned.

Aunt Petunia pushed a small mound of presents. Although it was nothing compared to whatever Dudley got for his birthdays, it meant a great deal to Harry because the Dursleys have never given him a birthday gift before.

"Open it."

Inside one package was yet another set of clothes. Really. Did she think he was so out of them that he was going out stark naked? However, he accepted his gift with a small smile and went to the next box.

It was an interesting small muggle portable TV slash radio. It was a device that all kids were raving about and he took it graciously.

The next present was a new pair of shoes. He was quite glad they had thought of this because his old ones were wearing out.

The last box was a small velvet one. Harry picked it up gingerly. When he unclasped the lid, he looked round eyed at a shiny rolex watch.

"Aunt P-Petunia…" Harry was lost for words.

She beamed and grinned rather forcedly.

"It's for 17 years of ignorance, my boy."

A small thud deep down his heart momentarily stopped his breathing.

She had never ever ever ever ever ever ever called him 'my boy' before. Even Uncle Vernon and Dudley stopped eating their sausages.

Even Aunt Petunia herself couldn't help herself. She burst into tears.

"Oh, that poor man was right! I should have taken better care of you! I promised him… I promised him I'll treat you like my second son! And now, he's dead! What will ever come of you?" She cried as she grabbed Harry and began to suffocate him.

"Just because I had angst for my sister… your mother… I shouldn't have put you down like that. I'm so sorry… I'm such a devil!"

"It's… all right."

"No it isn't!" Aunt Petunia yelled as she let go fiercely. She ran over to a closet and fished under stories of drawers until she retrieved a small intricate box.

She walked over to the sofa in the living room, motioning for him to sit down. He kneeled next to her. Aunt petunia took out papers and photos from the box.

"These are all the letters your mother sent home from that school. And these… are photographs of when we were very little.

There, Harry didn't even have to ask which one was his mother. Those piercing green eyes gazed back at the old photo, smiling next to another girl who was probably Aunt Petunia.

She unfolded the letters and began to shed more tears.

"Oh! How I despised her. She went off to the school to learn magic! Magic! And I was stuck here doing calculus. But she still sent letters… hoping we were still best friends as we used to be."

Harry read a few sentences and stopped, feeling his eyes get cloudy as well.

Aunt Petunia gathered all the treasures and secured them in a box. After a moment's hesitation, she thrust the box into Harry's hands.

"Here. I want you to have this. Remember your mother."

Harry gaped.

"This- this is your only memory of her!"

"As is yours."

"I have plenty pictures of her. Don't worry. I think you should…"

"No. I shouldn't. It's yours. Happy birthday, Harry."

"Aunt Petunia…Aunt Petunia… well, er…"

"Yes?"

"This… this is the best birthday present that anyone could ever possibly give to me." Harry said, pointing at the box.

Aunt Petunia smiled grimly. "Why…"

"Thank you." He said, giving her a small tight hug.

"You're welcome."

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Harry looked spiffy in his brand new clothes, shoes and watch. He checked his shiny Rolex frequently, waiting for when the crew from the Order will arrive. Midnight was coming closer. Aunt Petunia was asleep on the couch waiting so she can give him a last good-bye.

Finally, at 1 am, a much more shaggy but cheery looking Lupin, Tonks, Shacklebolt, Mr. Wealsey, Ron, and Mad-Eye came falling and coughing from the fireplace.

"Well, Harry, I see you're ready to go?"

"Yes."

"Are they here?" Aunt Petunia's voice cut in.

"Oh, I'm sorry to wake you up. We're here to pick up Harry. Got all your stuff?" Lupin asked.

"Yes."

"Well…" Tonks looked around nervously. "Are we just leaving then?"

"I guess, yeah." Harry said, pulling in his suitcase and owl.

As some Order people walked back into the fireplace, Harry stayed behind, looking uncertainly at Aunt Petunia. Now, Uncle Vernon and Dudley were scampering down the stairs.

"WHAT TH- oh. They're here."

"Sorry for the inconvenience."

Uncle Vernon merely grunted.

"Well… I guess… this is it." Harry said, looking at his aunt.

"Yes. Well, good-bye. You… you take care now."

"I will."

As Harry walked even closer to the fireplace, leaving his… home… for the last time, he turned back and hugged his aunt.

She burst into tears. "You b-be careful now! Don't cause too much trouble! And make sure to kill that… dark lord… get back at him for… what he did to… your mother. My sister." She bawled even harder. "You stay at it, okay? Be a good boy. And come by to visit one day."

"I will. I will, Aunt Petunia."

Harry let go, facing his uncle.

"Well, pleasure to meet you, Harry. I hope you have a… healthy life." He grunted, sticking out his hand. Harry accepted, turning to Dudley.

Dudley said nothing. Just stuck the populare MP3 player in his hands. Harry laughed.

"Thanks Dudley." He said, sticking out his hand for Dudley to shake.

Feeling quite cheery, and yet a bit sad, he followed the tall red headed boy into the fireplace as he waved his final goodbyes.

"Well, then. Good bye. I'll visit one day." The Dursleys waved.

Harry called out "Good-bye, home!" before being zapped into the emerald fires into the other home he so adored.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Ahh… I wonder what you guys thought.

I hope you enjoyed! Nothing much happened but NEXT CHAPTER: Bill and Fleurs WEDDING.

Haha. Fun stuff.

Ta ta then!


	2. The wedding and the day after

"Harry!"

All the ladies in the house scrambled down the stairs. Mrs. Weasley was first to get to him.

"Harry! How have you been? Good?"

"I'm well. Yeah."

Mrs. Weasley let go of him to look him over. "Well… at least you're fed this time. My, Harry, do you ever stop growing?"

"Mum! You're hogging him!" Ginny's voice exclaimed as she pushed her mother aside to jump on Harry.

"Harry! It's been so lonely and quiet without you."

"Hey… if you're implying something…"

"Ginny! You're hogging him!" Hermione's voice laughed as she pushed her girlfriend aside as she leaned in to give him a great hug.

"Harry! You're finally here! It was rather boring around here. Quiet too. As Ginny said."

"Harry! Quite the lady's man, eh?"

"Happy birthday mate! The big 1 7, eh?" The twins entered from nowhere.

"Mum! I think it calls for the celebration!"

"Are you kidding? Tomorrow is Bill and Fleur's wedding! Everyone back to bed! Sorry, Harry. We'll really mention your birthday at the wedding. But right now…"

"Presents! Harry open your presents!" Ginny dragged him to the living room, disregarding anything her mother said.

Surprisingly, they had set up all his presents in a generous pile in the corner of the room.

Harry unwrapped all his gifts, now 20 galleons richer, and with an everlasting supply of the twin's brilliant inventions, and many brains smarter with the books, and endlessly amused with the rest, Harry became a party pooper (Ginny's word) when he declared himself sleepy and fell into a deep sleep.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Early in the morning, he was awakened by a loud screaming of Mrs. Weasley.

"WEDDING DAY!"

Groaning and very sleepy, Harry poked Ron as they both got ready. Harry only had to wear a new simple blue suit, but Ron, being the ring-bearer, had a nicely decorated suit.

"This reminds me a lot of fourth year when I had that girl gown to wear whereas you had a plain green one."

Harry laughed.

"I remember. Good days, that."

"Yeah…"

But why was everything now so different?"

Sighing, he heard commotion outside in the yard. He was shocked to see chairs already set up and balloons already hung.

And then, he remembered that they were wizards.

The ceremony was just 3 hours after Harry and Ron had trudged down to breakfast. Guests had already begun entering, some right when Harry was starting on his eggs.

"Hello, Ali! How are you?"

"As sick as ever. But I can't dare miss the wedding we've all been waiting for."

"Oh, you poor girl. I swear I can help you in just a flick of a wand…"

The girl Ali, who Harry finally remembered as the one who had delivered the letter to Mrs. Figgs, laughed. "Yes, I'm sure you can. But I was raised as a girl with an immunization system and I will stay that way."

Harry finally got his first glance at her. He recognized her from her rather short hair, which was a complete disaster now. It was half tied up but the bottom half had been rebels and now hung loosely and tiredly around her rather frail face. He wasn't sure if she was normally so pale and tired looking, but he blamed whatever sickness she had. She had bags under her eyes and a large coat, yet she held a bright glow from within her that was clearly visible in her sparkly eyes and flushed cheeks.

"Who's she?" Harry mumbled to Ron.

"One of the new members. We saw her in the beginning of the summer. She joined when we started sixth year. Knew Dumbledore personally. She was quite a looker in the beginning of summer… and then she got sick. She's been sick for about a month now."

"What does she have?"

"What everyone these days have. Pneumonia, I think? It's spreading fast. She also has a cold and got food poisoning a few weeks back. And allergies are at its peak right now… Poor girl. She's in such a bad state- haven't seen her since I heard she had pneumonia."

"I can see. She's wearing a coat in middle of summer."

"Tell me about it. But you know, she's actually really pretty when she's all healthy."

"Oh?" Harry asked, briefly terminating on munching his toast.

"And she's really smart. She's about our age. But she knows so much about… everything!"

"Who? Ali?" Hermione had joined them at the table.

"Yeah. Who else?"

"True true. She's really nice too. Too bad she had to get so sick like that."

"Yeah. Why isn't she letting Mrs. Weasley heal her?"

"The same reason she just told mum. 'I have an immunization system and I plan to use it.' Whatever an immunization system is- see I told you she was smart- she won't let mum touch her." Ron mumbled in middle of his eggs.

"Immunization system? Is she from a muggle town?"

"Don't know. Haven't talked to her for a while. We only had dinner together once, a long time back." Ron said, munching on his bacon.

"Huh."

The Ali person was now outside, helping Mrs. Weasley set up. The way she swished her wand when she was bringing up some roses to place all over was professional and mesmerizing.

"She seems smart." Harry mumbled, chugging down the last of his orange juice.

After breakfast, the three headed out to start welcoming guests. By the time it was 11, when the wedding started, Harry, Hermione, and Ron were already down to the bones tired.

Harry and Hermione took a seat as Ron stayed back, getting ready for his role as ring-bearer. It was quite funny, seeing a six foot 17 year old holding a cushion with the rings when it was normally a job for a seven year old, but he was the only choice they had. And according to Fleur, he was 'Just az boyish az a seven year old.'

Ginny and Gabrielle walked down the aisle first. They were both looking dashingly beautiful in their pale gold dresses- because 'pink vud look horribl' vith Ginny's hair'- and they held themselves with such grace. When Gabrielle's eyes found Harry sitting there, she blushed a little and began to speed up her walking. Ginny rolled her eyes slightly and managed a small smile.

The rest of the ceremony was heart wrenching. Not was it the uncontrollable sobbing Mrs. Weasley on the first row, not was it Bill standing there on crutches not paying attention to his wedding ceremony, not was it how the whole Weasley family just broke down when Bill dropped Fleur's ring and couldn't pick it up, not was it when Fleur kissed Bill passionately and told him that no matter how ugly he was, she 'vill alvays and forever love you vith passion,' not was it when Ginny suddenly 'had a bloody bug fly into her eye' and had to run off back into the burrow, or not was it when instead of a happy Bill swooping Fleur up in his arms, Fleur put his arm around her frail shoulders and had to drag him through the aisle.

It was how perfect that couple was amidst all the fury, drama, and deaths that were occurring around them. How in middle of the most ruthless and dangerous war ever, a couple so strong and so bold could stand up… well only Fleur… and swear to spend the rest of their lives together caught everyone almost in tears. Even Harry had an enormous bulge in his throat and Hermione couldn't stop crying beside him during the wedding.

He admired Fleur greatly for her great heart and her ability to look past Bill's demented face and marry him. He admired her for letting what happened to Bill completely ruin her perfect wedding but still be quite charming and enormously happy about it. Once Mrs. Weasley had finally accepted her in the end of their sixth year, Ginny, Hermione, and the rest of them went through the wedding, realized that Fleur wasn't going anywhere and accepted her as well. Ginny in fact gave her the longest hug and most heart warming speech at the table after.

After, all the guests hung around in their backyard, talking and socializing. Harry had been in a heated discussion about the new minister of magic with Percy when he decided that drinking punch would be the best to have to distract himself from actually punching Percy's eyes out.

He was pouring himself a glass of punch when he spotted Ali several yards away, shivering in the 84 degree summer day. He noticed Charlie running up to her, putting an arm around her shoulder. She kindly shrugged it off, smiled and walked away, leaving Charlie there all alone.

"Charlie fancies her."

Harry turned around to see Ginny standing next to him, picking up her juice.

"Everyone does. I even caught Fred and George sneaking gazes at her before she got sick. But Charlie… I've NEVER seen him so love smitten before."

"Really? Does… does she like him too?"

"I don't think so. She's always trying to avoid him."

"Oh…"

"But everyone likes her. Who wouldn't? She has the looks of Fleur, personality of Tonks, sweetness of Mum, humor of Fred and George, and brains of any professional adult wizard. And I heard she's not even 20. Isn't she just so envious?"

"Sure." Harry said, stealing another glance at Ali's tense, but cheerful position as she was laughing at Fred and George's schemes.

"Well, everyone except the men who are taken like her."

"That's…"

"Do you fancy her?"

Harry turned to face Ginny abruptly. If his woman theories were correct… was she hinting…

"Ginny… look. I…"

Ginny turned red. "Don't fret, Harry. I…I w-w-won't m-mind."

Harry just stared. He was flabbergasted. Not knowing what to say, he just stood there his heart turning and brain dying. What was he to do? Surely… she was over him by now, but…

It wasn't until Ginny doubled over laughing and tears of laughter sprung out of her that Harry realized that she had been kidding him.

Laughing too as he helped Ginny up, she gasped for breath. "You-have-got-to-be-the-thickest-boy-ever!"

"Hey! That was a nasty joke you played on me."

Ginny laughed.

"I-can't-believe-you-fell-for-it!"

"You know what!" Harry blushed deeply. "It wasn't fair either! How am I supposed to know if you're playing with me or not?"

Ginny laughed even harder as she waved and walked away to talk with Hermione.

"Ah! Harry, m'boy."

"Hello, Mr. Weasley."

"How are you today? Enjoyed the ceremony?"

"I'm fine, thanks to the wedding. It was really great, Mr. Weasley. They're really a perfect couple."

"Yes, yes. Well, I guess it is. Harry, I'll like to introduce you to a new member of the Order. This is Ali Bishop. I don't think you two have met." Mr. Weasley guided Ali over to let them shake hands.

"Pleasure to meet you, Harry."

Harry nodded. So he was finally being introduced to her.

"Ali is about your age. 18? 19 were you?"

"I'll be 19 in just 2 months, Mr. Weasley. Just two months." Ali said, rubbing her hands together excitedly.

"Hoho! You must be anxious?"

"Of course! I've been waiting for the day for 10 months now."

"Oh, but Harry here just turned 17 two days ago." Mr. Weasley said, clapping him on his back.

"Really? The big 1 7… I remember mine. Hm… I was locked up in my room, eating the usual, oh you know. Mashed potatoes, some eggs… hah, except on that day, I got some bread to go with my meal too. As a birthday treat you know?"

It was a rather depressing story, especially for one of the most important birthdays. However, Ali kept the mood rather cheerful and light.

"But it's okay because I took my apparition test the day after and passed! That was a present enough. Say, Harry, are you ready to take yours now? You'll be taking it soon, I should guess."

"Er… I really haven't given it much thought."

"Oh, you MUST ask someone to bring you take the test. Its loads more convenient. We're lucky because we get our birthdays after school ends. We get more time to practice. They're really strict you know."

"I'll keep that in mind."

"Actually, Harry, why don't we take you there tomorrow?" Mr. Weasley asked.

"That… that would be okay. If I'm not busy."

"What in the name of heavens could you be busy with? Come on, and while we're there, maybe we can drop by Diagon Alley? Get new school supplies… your twins, Mr. Weasley, rather energetic animals, have convinced me to check out their store." Ali laughed. "Charming people, they are." She turned around briefly to sneeze. "Excuse me. Oh dear. It's getting rather chilly, isn't it?"

"Chilly? Would you like to go back inside, Ali? You can stay up in Ginny's room. It's the warmest there."

"That would be lovely… but I'm afraid I'll have to get going back. I don't want to kick Ginny out of her room. I know I'll probably fall asleep anyway."

"You'll be leaving then, Ali?" Mr. Weasley asked with a small frown.

"I'm dreadfully sorry I'll have to. But give Bill and Fleur a big hug and kiss for me, please? They're really just so adorable. Fleur really is a sweetie if you get to know her." Ali wrapped the coat more securely around her. "I think I should go now. Good-bye, Mr. Weasley! The wedding was phenomenal." She shook his hand as she waved at Harry. "See you around, Harry." She said as she went over to another group to say her good-byes.

"She's a charming one, her. I introduced you to her because I want to tell you that she'll be teaching at Hogwarts next year."

"Oh. So they're NOT closing down."

"Of course not! We still have Ginny to go through there. Now, Ron as told me that you have decided not to come back for your final year?"

Harry flushed. "Yes…I-"

"A bold, yet unmistakable choice, Harry. I would advise you to at least make your living quarters at Hogwarts but it is all up to you."

"You mean, I can stay at Hogwarts but not attend classes?"

Mr. Weasley nodded unsurely.

"I haven't brought it up with Minerva yet, but I know you need to go out there and… well… strengthen yourself. I know that you and Dumbledore know something none of us do, but I respect that. Although we all would have preferred you stayed at school to do the rest of your learning, you're of age now and I really can't stop you." Mr. Weasley winked. "And you have my permission to take along my son with you on your journey to find whatever you'll be finding."

It finally hit him that nobody besides him, Ron, and Hermione knew about horcruxes and knew that it was why he was going out of school to look for them.

"Th-thank you, Mr. Weasley… you have… no idea."

"Sure thing. I know there are NEWTS coming up and Ron's future to think about but you know… if you're doing something to get rid of he-who-must-not-be-named, I really can't complain. Molly would be hard to convince but she'll be fine. My only request is that you will make Hogwarts your home for the year, however. Dumbledore may not be there to protect it from he-who-must-not-be-named, but that place is probably still safer than anywhere else you may think of. And I doubted you'll want to go the Grimmauld… well, anyway. I hope you the best, Harry. Come with me tomorrow morning; I'll be taking you to take your apparition test tomorrow."

"Okay. Thank you"

"It's nothing, Harry. Just… help us."

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

The weeks passed by quickly after the wedding. Harry got ready to go to Godrics Hollow when September started. They passed their days playing quidditch, playing chess, talking, eating, and spending their summer like they always did. It hurt Harry to know that it may be the last time he ever played a game of Quidditch or argued with Ron over a game of exploding snaps.

Harry had taken and passed his apparition test, even though Harry had a feeling it was mostly also because of the fact that it was Harry Potter and the testers nearly freaked out when he walked into the door. Harry's fan club, Mr. Weasley, Mrs, Weasley, Ron, Hermione, Ginny, Fred, George, Charlie, Ali, Tonks, and Mad-eye all followed him when Harry had expected to only come with Mr. Weasley. When Harry came out flushed and cheerful, they all gathered around him to create a whole scene at the ministry. They finally left when Mad-eye crossly grunted that everyone was watching them like a group of lunatics.

After, the group had separated. Mr. and Mrs. Weasley and Mad-eye went back to the burrow whereas Fred and George accompanied Harry, Ron, Hermione, Ginny, Charlie, Tonks, and of course, Ali to their shop.

It was almost a Hogwarts reunion there. Harry was very shocked to find that just about half of his class was still going back for their seventh year. Of course, most of them were going contrary to their parent's wishes but they were given permission with the fact that anywhere else was probably still just as dangerous and that they were already too far ahead to go back and change their lifestyles.

Finally, Ali now took up a high fever and quickly rushed herself back home, forcing Charlie to stay behind because of lack of adult supervision.

"I swear, I don't know how she does it. I've never seen Charlie so smitten to someone like that. It's completely un-Charlie!" Ginny muttered cursing, and knocked over a display of canary creams. She just took one look at it, groaned even louder and stomped away.

Harry fixed the mess the Ginny had so angrily just left behind. Since he was now 17, he could use his wand freely.

Remembering their trip to Diagon Alley the year before, Hermione whispered to Ron and Harry. "What do you think happened to Malfoy? You think he'll come back?"

Ron shrugged as Harry shook his head violently.

"I saw him. He followed Snape and the rest of the death eaters. I know he didn't have enough nerve to kill Dumbledore and he could have been so close to just staying with us and not passing over to the death eater side, but now that Dumbledore is… well… well… I just don't think he'll come. I have a hunch he'll stay with Voldemort."

Hermione bit her lip. "The poor thing."

Ron spat. "Poor thing? POOR THING? He deserves it! He deserves every second of the torture that's just waiting around the corner of his bloody hell life! It's too late to change him now!"

"Yeah, but still."

"Yeah, I do sort of feel bad for him. But hey, he could have always gotten out of it, but he didn't so we really can't blame ourselves. What's wrong with Ginny?" Harry changed the subject, peering over the U-No-Poo's to Ginny glaring angrily at the love potion.

"I don't know. It looks like she's mad at the potion. Maybe it didn't work on her or something. Figures…"

"Ron! You know that's not true. Charlie was a close brother of hers. Her favorite, I think. But now he's all goo-goo over Ali…"

"Really, Charlie's become the most air-headed bloke since he met her."

"She doesn't even like him! Doesn't he get the hint already? Look what it's doing to Ginny."

"Yeah well, just because Charlie's obsessed about Ali, doesn't give Ginny the right to go stomping around with that look on her face."

"She's been like this for over a month now! I think it's time fore Charlie to just grow up and take it that Ali will never go out with him."

"That's what love does to you! And why DOESN'T Ali like him anyway? Charlie's one of Weasley's best! He's good looking, smart, athletic, daring… what more does she want?" Ron crossed his arms.

"Maybe it's just the way that he's always hanging over her with his tongue drooling out!"

And then, Hermione and Ron broke out into another of their petty arguments.

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Sigh. Second chapter. Hehe. I'm scared that if I don't stop writing, I'll never look at this story again.

Hoped you liked!

Ta ta!


	3. Goodbyes

Wanted: More reviews!

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Harry Potter had a schedule.

He, Hermione, and Ron would all escort Ginny (she was their excuse) to Hogwarts, spend their first day there, and then Harry alone would set out to Godric's Hollow to visit his Mother and Father alone.

They shared a compartment with Ginny, but it didn't help much because Ginny was still brooding over Charlie's lack of 'good-bye.' He had left the day before, for there was no reason for him to stay. Ali had gone to Hogwarts 3 days before them.

Speaking of Ali.

"I heard from what Mum and Lupin were talking, she's all better now." Hermione said conversationally.

"That's a BIG relief. Oh, man, I'm so relieved I'm going to faint." Ginny spat sarcastically.

"Really, Ginny. She never did anything to you. I don't think you should hold a grudge over her. And she's going to be teaching you too."

"Of course she never did anything to me. She just screwed over my brother!"

"I'm sure she didn't 'screw over' your brother. Where do you get these phrases, Gin?"

"The damn T.B. You showed me once, remember?"

"T.V. Anyway. Do you think I should attend classes while we're here?"

"What? We're helping Harry find his Ho-I mean… things." Ron blurted out before he realized Ginny was in the same compartment.

"Well, while he's at Godric's Hollow I mean. I don't see the point of just lying around doing nothing."

"We won't be doing nothing. We'll be eating, sleeping, uh…"

"That's nothing. I bought a few books…"

"WHAT? You even told Harry you'll help him!"

"Ron, I don't mind." Harry said. He didn't. He didn't expect Hermione to be the one sitting in the common room doing nothing while they were waiting for Harry to come back.

"No! You can't." Ron said, ignoring Harry's comment.

"Harry doesn't care! And plus, I'll only be taking them while Harry's at Godrics Hollow. I'll be spending rest of my days… helping."

"Tonks said that classes won't be the same as they used to be." Ginny piped up.

"What do you mean?" Hermione's attention drew back from the very small argument to listen to Ginny.

"She said instead of just regular Charms, or regular Transfiguration, it'll be Charms and Transfiguration for protection. So basically, all our classes will be for defense."

"Then what's the point of a Defense against the Dark Arts class?"

"Uh… to defend yourself against the dark arts?" Ginny said, as if it settled the matter.

"You just said we're doing that in Charms and Transfiguration!" Hermione exclaimed. It was the first time Harry had seen her confused.

"And Potions, Herbology, uh… Ancient Runes, Muggle studies, you know. Everything. They'll be teaching their subjects, except in defense ways. So we won't be learning about just any potion. Maybe a potion that can help protect yourself from danger or something. You know?"

"But what about Charms? Won't we learn defending charms in that class? What will Ali be teaching, then?"

"Uh… defense against the d-?"

"I KNOW I KNOW!" Hermione seemed frustrated. Maybe that's why it wasn't a good thing to make her confused. "What else could there be to learn?"

"Oh. Hexes, curses, Jinxes, you know."

"Oh. Oh, well of course! Why didn't I think of that before?" Hermione said with a small smile.

"Psh. And they call you smart." Ron mumbled.

"Hah. Well maybe if I owl Charlie saying that Ali hit me with an unforgivable curse, he'll lay off her…" Ginny said, wondering off.

"Oh, Ginny… just leave him alone. Let him take his time to figure out that… nothing's going to happen if he just keeps being her dog."

"Charlie. Is. Not. A. dog." Ginny drawled slowly.

The threesome drew back, shrinking in their seats.

Weasley anger got out of hand sometimes.

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The feast was nothing as it used to be when Professor Dumbledore had been at the head of the table. Now, it was Professor Sprout entering in the first years (there were a total of 16) and Professor McGonagall welcoming the students.

"Welcome to another year at Hogwarts. Major changes will be taking place this year, due to… disastrous causes the previous year. We would like to assure everyone in the room that even though Professor Dumbledore is not here, Hogwarts will be as safe as any other school. New security borders have been laid and the Room of Requirements has been taken out of the school." Harry knew that was a good choice, but it was still a bit saddening. "Students are not advised to leave the school campus after dinner or before 6 am. Passwords shall not be given out to anyone who is not in your common room groups." And then, she said the most surprising thing of all.

"There will be no houses this year. There will be no sorting of the houses for the first years as well. We will not be standing as Gryffindors, Slytherins, Hufflepuffs, or Ravenclaws. We will be Hogwarts. We hope this will be the best measures taken to ensure inter-house relations starting from now. The new first years will be divided alphabetically into 4 different common rooms and the rest of you will remain in your own former houses. Please know that this was to enforce a spirit of equality in the school."

"Now, I will take my time to introduce to you a new defense against the dark arts teacher, Professor Bishop." Professor McGonagall said, pointing towards her left where Severus Snape had risen from his chair.

Indeed, Ali was a shocker when she wasn't sick. Harry realized that he never noticed her when he had walked into the Great Hall. Now, he could recognize her shoulder length brown hair and rosy cheeks. The dark bags under her eyes were gone and her hair was tamed. She had a fuller, healthier face rather to her bony one he had met at the wedding and held a strong confident hold of herself as she smiled slightly to the applauding students.

There was also a second caretaker to help Filch with his patrolling. Soon, food was piled up on the tables and Ron had already finished off a chicken leg.

"You disgust me sometimes." Hermione groaned as she poked Ron at his side. He didn't move.

"And I know you love it."

Hermione held back a laugh and looked over at Harry worrily.

"Why aren't you eating? Are you okay?"

"Yeah. Yeah. I'm fine. Not very hungry."

"You should ask Dobby for something to eat while you're gone, Harry!"

"FINALLY over SPEW?" said, punching the air victoriously.

"It's S-P-E-W, Ronald. And no. It's just Dobby's your house-elf so…I don't know."

"Ask Kreacher to do it. Wait. Never mind. He'll probably give you some maggots."

Harry laughed remembering the last Christmas.

"Maybe it's not too bad."

"Don't you find it unnaturally quiet now that Malfoy and his Slytherin friends are gone?" Hermione said, smirking and looking towards the end table in which the Slytherins once gathered.

Harry looked across the great hall and realized that almost the whole Slytherin table was empty.

"Why do you think they're all gone?"

"I don't know. Maybe they all got whisked off to become death eaters? I hope they all got kicked out." Ron punched the air once more.

"Wait." Ginny suddenly tuned into their conversation. "What'll ever happen to Quidditch?"

Ron dropped his 6th chicken.

"You're right! What WILL happen to Quidditch?"

Harry shrugged. He wasn't going to be taking part of any of it anyway.

"Don't tell me you're quitting Quidditch, Harry." Ginny said looking intensely at him.

"I'll have to, wouldn't I? I'll be off most of the year anyway. Remember- I'm only here to sleep and eat."

"But…" Ginny stared at him unbelievingly.

"They probably got rid of Quidditch anyway."

"No!"

"Actually they probably did. That's beside the point. There's a Dumbledore-free school and Lord Voldemort running around stronger than ever. And YOU guys are worrying about Quidditch? Now really." Hermione interrupted them. The two Weasleys glared at her.

"What? It's true!"

"I don't care. If it's the last thing I do, I'm bringing Quidditch back to Hogwarts. Just because Voldemort's free from any holding back against attacking any of us this second, it doesn't mean we should be deprived from any thing good we had in this hell hole. And DON'T look at me like that, Hermione. It was your bloody T.B. thing."

"Hear hear! That's my sister."

"We don't have to have houses. Just teams. And maybe we'll just play for fun. You know? Maybe I'll have a team called the Pygmy Puffs."

Harry laughed.

"I'll watch some games."

"Why don't you PLAY them?"

"No! I told you. I'm not doing Quidditch. I'm barely even part of this school right now."

"Are you currently sitting at a table in Hogwarts?"

"Yes, but…"

"Are you sleeping in a bed in Hogwarts?"

"Yes, but you…"

"Are you going to be putting a foot in any of the floors of Hogwarts?"

"Well, yes…"

"Then you're in Hogwarts! Please? Don't let Voldemort hold you back from THIS now! You've lost everything to him. Don't you lose your passion too."

Nobody spoke and Harry's face reddened, but Ginny didn't stop.

"What are you lot gawking at? It's the truth! Listen. I know you have important things to do that will save all our necks. But you know what we really need? We all need a bit more happiness. We need to show HIM that we can all still have fun while he's trying to kill us."

"Gin…"

"No! Once you quit Quidditch, Harry, it's over. You've got nothing now. I know your life doesn't revolve around Quidditch and you don't think it'll make a big of a deal, right? I bet you never had second thoughts about this. But you know what? Soon, everything you do will be because of Voldemort. He'll possess you in a different way. Don't be like me, now. Don't you succumb to it all and become just a body killing yourself by depriving yourself of privileges that are all around you."

Ginny's passionate lecture was moving and Harry almost felt like jumping up and saying that he'll forget all about Horcruxes and Voldemort and have the time of his life before he died. But he didn't. Instead, he put his fork down, turned to face Ginny in the eye and told her softly.

"I'm. Not. Doing. Quidditch. Next. Year. But, Ginny. I think you'll make a brilliant captain. You go lead your Pygmy Puffs to victory. You have to understand… I can't."

Ginny gave one last furious glare before grabbing a chicken leg and storming off.

"Bloody jesus. What's wrong with her?"

"Well… It seems like she does not like the changes that are going on."

"Well, none of us do. But we're not talking Harry off like that, are we?"

"It's okay Ron. She's right. None of you should be keeping yourself from having fun. You could just stay in sch-?" Harry tried to say when Hermione cut him off.

"No. Harry, we've discussed this. We're coming with you."

"But…"

"No. No buts. Look. Voldemort completely ruined Ginny years ago. Voldemort was the reason that you two broke up, wasn't it? Voldemort kept her from doing anything she could have done for a while now. And she's just angry now that everyone's becoming like that now."

Ron stared gaping at her with bits of turkey falling out of his mouth.

"Ronald, that's gross. I don't know why I ever agreed to go out with y…" Hermione stopped, blushing slightly. She looked around.

"You realize that Lavender and Parvati aren't here?"

"Yeah… why?"

"Oh, just pointing out. If they had caught me saying the rest of that sentence… the whole school will probably know by tomorrow morning."

"Are you telling me you're embarrassed of our relationship?" Ron asked.

"No! I just don't want every single person alive to know."

"Why?"

"Well, why do you WANT them to know?"

"Well, why CAN'T you know? Will it hurt you?"

"No… just… Ugh! Never mind."

"Yeah. Never mind, all right."

"Fine." Hermione blew some hair away from her forehead as she turned to start a conversation with Neville.

"Hermione…" Ron whispered in a sing-song voice.

"What?" she said, whipping around in her seat.

"Heh. Nothing. I just love it when you do that…"

Harry felt a knot in his throat. They could bicker endlessly, but their mushiness was just unbearable to watch.

Harry slid away from the table just in time to miss Ron and Hermione's nose wars. He was walking to the Gryffindor common room when he bumped into Ali.

"Harry! I see you've made it okay."

"Yeah. You're all better now?"

"Never been better. Your immunization system does wonders for you."

"…right."

"Really, does anyone know about their body systems?"

"Well…"

"Don't answer that. Hey Harry, I know you're busy but before you leave tomorrow morning, you mind if you drop by my classroom?"

"Uh… sure. Why?"

"Remus gave me something to give you before you left. He said it'll help you a lot there."

"Oh. Okay."

"Are you going to be gone mostly every day now?"

"Uh… I'm not quite sure. I know I won't be back for about a week or two."

"Oh. Well, because I know you're not taking any classes or anything, but I have really important projects planned and I think it'll be crucial for you, especially, to learn them this year."

"Well, I'll see about that. I'm sure I won't be gone every day. I'll need this library often."

"Hah. One last thing Harry- I'll need to be giving you Occlumency lessons?"

Harry slumped.

"Do I have to?"

"From what I know, yes."

"I can't do it! Snape always said I don't concentrate enough but who trusts him now? It's like impossible to do it."

"Oh really? From what I hear, you've gotten very close once."

"Well, that was once."

"Maybe it'll be twice."

"I doubt it."

"Well, I'll make it twice. Don't worry, Harry. I'll be extra harsh on you. I'll starve you until you get it." Ali said with a twinkle in her eye. Harry didn't know if that was a joke or not.

"Uh…"

"I'm not kidding. I'll be sending you an owl. You should head back now; I don't want to keep you from your sleep. Come by my office from any time after 7 tomorrow."

"Okay."

"Talk to you later."

"Right."

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

"You got everything?" Hermione and Ron asked in the morning of September 2nd.

"Yeah. Yeah, I think so."

"What do you have in your bag?"

"Uh… invisibility cloak, Maurader's map for my way back, and I've got my wand in my pocket."

Hermione gave a worried frown.

"You sure you're not missing anything?"

"Nope."

"Why can't we come with you?"

"Just because."

"Because…"

"Because it's not your parents' grave you're visiting."

"Oh."

"Well, we'll be missing you, mate. Come back soon." Ron said, head propped up on his arms dozing off.

"Yeah. I really now don't see why it should it be any more than 2 days."

"Me neither. Maybe you'll be back by tomorrow?"

"Maybe. There's not much I can do there, is there?"

"Nope. There isn't. If it'll take longer, owl us."

"Okay. You two don't do anything naughty while I'm gone, okay?" Harry said, winking.

"Now, really."

"You're right, Ron. Mrs. Weasley is really rubbing off on you."

"Now really…"

"Look, it's 7. I should go now." Harry said, making his way out of his dormitory.

"Remember to drop by Ali's." Hermione said, following him out the door.

"Oh yeah- I forgot."

"I thought you did."

"Are you going to follow me out?"

"Yes."

"Sorry mate, too sleepy." Ron said, in the same spot as he was when he first woke up.

"Ron!" Hermione scolded, beckoning him over.

"Fine, fine."

"No, really. You stay too, Hermione."

"I'll watch you go out the portrait."

Harry blushed. He wasn't a fan of when Hermione got all motherly on him.

"It's not like there's going to be someone just out of our common room ready to attack me."

"There might."

Harry groaned as he walked swiftly out the portrait. He looked back, waving at his two friends.

"Bye! Take care!"

"Be careful, Harry!"

"Yeah. What she said." Ron yawned.

Harry felt awkward walking directly from the common room to a class before breakfast. After a few trips on trick stairs and an argument with a knight, he found his way to the defense against dark arts classroom.

He expected Ali to be sitting there in her desk waiting for him to come but when he entered, nobody was there.

"Hello?" Harry called out timidly.

No answer.

'Maybe she was in her room.' Harry eyed the staircase that led to the professor's private room. That was where he and Ron had met a frantically packing Lockhart. That was where he had learned to do the Patronus…

Harry stopped in front of the closed door and knocked. Nobody came to the door.

After a moment's hesitation, Harry turned the doorknob to peek in. There Ali was, head under pillow, sleeping.

"Uh… Professor Bishop?" It felt different acknowledging her to that. Hermione, Ali, and Ron always just called her Ali.

Harry gently tapped on her bare shoulder.

She shifted a little before turning to face him.

"Who is it?"

"It's Harry. You said to come by?"

"Oh. Oh. It's 7 already?"

"Er, yeah."

Sighing, Ali sat up in her bed sleepily.

"Harry, dear, could you get me that cup on my desk, please?"

When Harry handed her the white mug, she grabbed a rose that was beside her bed.

"Aguamenti." She said, tapping the pink petals to the cup.

Getting out of bed in only her pajamas and rubbing her eyes, Ali led Harry back out into the classroom.

"Remus gave me a book… and… two letters. One's for you, the other one is a permission slip to let you in." Ali said, handing each one by one.

"Okay."

"I'm giving you a map to and of Godric's Hollow."

"Oh. Thanks."

"Uh huh. I think…that's it."

"Okay. Thanks."

"You'll be leaving now?"

"Er- yeah."

"Oh, yeah! One more thing. You'll be needing food." Ali said, looking through all her papers.

"Food… food… where did I put that? Whatever. Uh… Winky? Winky?" Ali said, snapping her fingers.

"Yes, master?"

"Get me a bag of food that will last… 3 days? Edible food."

"Yes. Winky will."

"You don't have to…"

"I do have to. Thank you, Winky. I'm not sure if you'll like whatever she packed, but… it's food."

"Well… thanks, I guess." Harry said, making his way out.

"Oh! And one last thing, Harry, your parent's grave has been relocated. So whatever people there might tell you, it's not. It's behind the old church, not the new one, okay?"

"Erm…" How would she know where they were? Or more importantly, how did she know he was going there? "How…"

"Everyone knows. Just not the people who live there."

"Oh. Okay. Thanks."

"Have fun."

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Haha. I was getting so ready to have Godric's Hollow this chapter, but I guess not!

I neeeeed reviews! So far, only Strandy25 has been kind enough to do so.

Usually, if I don't get more, I stop writing.

But this is different. Somehow, I've gotten pulled into this story.

Ta ta!


	4. A Quick Return

Ignorance was bliss.

As soon as Harry apparated into Godric's Hollow, nobody took a second glance at him. Godric's Hollow was a muggle town after all. (A/N; wait, was it?)

However, Godric's Hollow was not any muggle town. It had a gray mist to it and every corner was a gloomy fog. The residents strolled around with somewhat blank expressions.

"Hello? I'm looking for the old church?" Harry asked one passerby.

The old man merely looked at him and walked away.

Muttering a string of curses, Harry lazily pulled out one of the maps that Ali had handed to him.

Unreadable.

"Can someone here bloody just tell me where the old church is?"

Nobody answered him until what seemed to be an hour when an old woman tapped him on his shoulder and pointed straight.

"Thanks."

Harry began walking towards where the dirty finger had pointed when inside of his stomach, something grumbled. He took out the bag of food Winky had packed, and found them not very… edible.

He looked around until he found a small building in the corner of a row of shops and restaurants.

Mermaid Café.

Intrigued by the name, he entered to find a totally different atmosphere. Unlike the dreary grayness it was on the outside, Mermaid Café was like a small shop from Hogsmeade. The air was sweet and sugary and the laughter was endless.

"Oh thank Merlins."

"Hello. Welcome to the Mermaid Café. How may I help you?" A waitress said cheerfully.

"I would like something to eat please. Anything. And could you tell me where the old church is?"

"Yes. You go down the long road and turn right at the second corner. It's right there. Tell me… you aren't…"

Harry gulped.

"I'm not… what?"

"Related to… James and Lily?"

"Yes, yes I am."

"Oh… oh my goodness. You look just like him. He was a regular here. And then, he and his wife just… died. This place was never the same without him. In fact, he was buried right behind here."

"Oh… wait, what?"

"Yes. He said if he was to be buried anywhere, it would be here or back in this village called Hogsmeade. I never found that place."

"Isn't he buried at the Old Church?"

"James? James Potter? No. They took him there to bury but moved him when they found his will. By heavens, your eyes…"

"Yes, they're my mother's eyes. Could you take me to their grave?"

"Why, of course. It's private property but you ARE related… you are right?"

"Yeah. I'm their son." The waitress beckoned him to follow her as she led him out to the back.

"By heavens name, that must have been hard."

"I was a baby."

"You survived the fire?"

"Uh… yeah. Yeah, I survived the fire."

"That must have been hard."

"It still is."

"You poor thing. Well, here it is. James and Lily Potter. Always a bit secretive though."

"Did you know? They were murdered?" Harry said dryly, staring at the 2 large bumps in the dirt ground.

The waitress stopped to stare at him.

"What are you talking about? There was a fire."

"Oh. Sure. Yeah. That's what everyone here may think. But they were actually murdered."

"No. What are you talking about? I'm sure…"

"And now, their murderer is out to get me. Funny huh? Except he's probably never going to die because he has like 872629374 lives. You know, my headmaster died trying to kill him too. And my headmaster is the smartest wizard alive. Or shall I say was?"

"What are you talking about? You must be mad." The waitress said, turning back.

"I'm sorry. It's just that now, I have a stupid prophecy that one of us has to kill the other. And so the safety of the whole world is in my hands. Nice, huh? Think how my life is like now, then. I lost everything to him. I don't want to lose my life now."

The waitress began to walk back towards the restaurant when Harry turned with his wand pointing at her back.

"_Obliviate_." Harry remembered that memory charm from his second year. He was shocked to see he had pulled it off.

"Excuse me, mister. Can I help you?" She asked, turning around.

"I'll like a scone please."

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Harry stayed in the backyard next to his parent's grave all day. He never felt hunger or thirst. Just loss. He never really got to talk to them before… whether it was about school, girl problems, or just talking, but he missed them. Seeing their grave was like a reality to him. As he sat there, looking at his parents, he contemplated the road ahead of him.

No matter how difficult it was going to be, he had to kill him. He had to kill that murderer.

Nobody bothered him while he sat there. Word spread quickly that he was James and Lily's son. The muggle world was no different than the world Harry lived in.

As Harry shifted on his feet to a more comfortable position, he heard a sound of metal against metal. Looking down, he gasped.

_It couldn't be…_

There was a chain of gold sticking out of the ground right at the foot of his father's grave.

Harry yanked on the string until it came unloose from the earth.

"MERLIN!"

That locket was like none other.

Exactly like the locket in the pensieve.

That meant that R.A.B…

RAB hid it in his parent's grave?

Harry tucked the locket into his pocket and found his way back into the café.

"Excuse me, waitress…"

"Oh. Oh! Dear. Do you need anything? Kleenex?"

"No. No! Did anyone else… Did anyone else come visit my parent's g-grave?"

"Oh sure. Their friends and all come by often."

"Oh… then…" Harry's heart sank.

"But…"

"But what?" Harry asked a bit too quickly.

"Only one person's been here recently."

"Who? Do you know them?"

"No. Said she was related in some complicated way. Why?"

"What does… she? It's a girl?"

"Yes. I thought so."

"What does she look like?"

"I'm… sorry. I don't quite remember. She wasn't ugly, though."

"Oh." Harry sighed. R.A.B was a girl?

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah. I'm just fine. Thanks for the scone."

"No problem. You take care, okay? Come by again. It's all on us."

"Okay. Thanks." Harry didn't have the heart to go back to mourn over his parents. He had just found a horcrux and there were more important things in mind.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

"Harry!"

"Hey, guys." Harry walked into the common room to find Hermione and Ron in a lip lock.

"W-what are you doing? I thought you'll be back in days!"

"Something important. Guys…" Harry looked around to find the room totally empty. To be safe, Harry muttered _Muffliato _and began to tell them of his find.

"I hope you two weren't busy."

"No. Go on, Harry. What was it?" Hermione said, flustered.

Harry pulled out the golden locket with the inscribed s on the side.

"That isn't…"

"This is."

"HARRY! Where did you find it?" Hermione jumped into the air.

"It was buried at my mum and dad's g-g-grave."

"Do you suppose R.A.B…"

"It's a girl."

"What? R.A.B's a girl?"

"Yeah."

"Harry, how can you be sure? I mean…"

"Come on, Hermione. The Prince was a girl. Why can't R.A.B?"

"But, mate, what are you going to do now?" Ron asked.

"Destroy it I guess."

"How?"

"I don't know."

"How did Dumbledore do it?"

"I don't know."

"What…"

"I don't know."

"You suppose we should ask an adult?" Asked Hermione in her Hermione voice.

"The thing is… these days I don't know who to trust."

There was an uncomfortable silence.

"That's true. Anyway, I think it was incredible you found it. I'm going to sleep." Hermione said, leaving the table.

"What happens now, mate?" Ron asked again, his face still in disbelief.

"I don't know. I'm going to bed too." Harry left as well, Ron closely following him.

The next morning Hedwig came crashing down at him.

_Hey, Harry. _

_I hope you're not busy. Could you, Ron, and Hermione all come to my class today? It'll be right before lunch. I have something important to tell all of you. _

_See you then,_

_Ali_

"What is it?" Hermione asked, trying to get a glance at the note.

"Ali wants us to come to class today. It's right before lunch. Should we go?"

"Yeah. She would only ask us if it's really important, right?"

"Right. But I really want to do something with the… thing." Harry mumbled.

"Well, we have plenty of time. One hour won't hurt."

"You secretly want to go to class, huh, 'Mione?" Ron asked in middle of his eggs.

"No! I- You know what, Ronald? I don't have time for his."

XXX

Harry, Ron, and Hermione made their way to the DADA class and took their seats in the back of the classroom.

Only a few minutes later, Ali walked in, smiling.

"Good morning cl- do you guys smell something?"

The class sniffed the air.

"No…"

"I feel something… illegal."

Some students snickered.

"It's not funny." She said sharply.

They stopped.

"Someone in here has something." Ali sniffed the air once more. "I think it's a potion… I'm not sure. She walked around the class, trying to find where the imaginary stench was coming from. The rest of the class looked at her in total confusion.

She stopped in front of Harry.

"Sorry to do this to you on the first day, but I need you to empty out your bag and your pocket." She said sternly.

"What? I don't… I don't have anything!" Harry cried defensively, glancing at Ron and Hermione. They looked perplexed as well.

"I'm so sorry. Please? I think it's coming from you."

The class giggled.

"It's NOT a joke. Harry, come see me outside, please."

Ali led him to the hallway outside the class. As soon as the door closed, she muttered _muffliato _and continued talking.

"How was Godric's Hollow?"

"It was fine… was that the only reason…"

"No. Harry, I have a feeling you're hiding something. Empty your pockets."

"What? No! It's for my research…"

"I'm sorry, Harry." Ali took out a rose from her pocket, pointed the petals toward his pant pockets and whispered, "Accio."

Harry felt 2 lockets fly into her hands.

Ali's eyes grew wide.

"W-what is this?"

"A locket. Could I have it back, please? I really…"

"You never thought for once that you are holding something with incredibly dark magic embedded into it?"

"I know. It's all part of…"

"Where did you find this horcrux, Harry?"

"Horcrux?" Harry gulped. "You know about… the horcruxes?"

"I don't know what you're talking about, but obviously…" Ali held up the Slytherin locket in her hand. "This. This is a horcrux. I feel it."

Harry was totally stumped. "How…what… what?"

"Whose horcrux is this? Tell me it's not yours."

"What? NO! No!"

Ali sighed deeply and handed the locket back to him. "Sorry for disturbing your privacy. We should get back to class."

"Uh… okay."

Harry followed her back inside.

"Sorry class for the interruption. The problem's all solved."

"What she want?" Hermione whispered when he got back.

"I'll tell you later."

"Okay, class. Today, I'm going to be teaching you today about… shows."

Ron gaped. "And this is so important, eh, 'Mione?"

"Actually, Mr. Weasley. It is VERY important."

Ron gulped.

"A show is you way of doing your magic. It shows who you are. If you find your show and you find it correctly, you will be such a stronger witch or wizard."

The class gave her a blank look.

"I see you're confused. Let me give you an example. If deep in your heart, your true heart, you are… lets say a mysterious person. If the way you do your magic is mysterious, the power of the force would be stronger than just doing it regularly." Ali said, passing out a piece of paper.

"Magic is all about the show. And then, the show is all about you. Now, your mission is to find out what you are all about. Are you a mysterious person? Are you a beautiful person? Are you an ugly person? Are you a funny person? Are you a sad person? The way you hold your wand and the way you perform will determine it. If you are a beautiful person, you'll perform any form of magic beautifully and that magic would be stronger than the way everyone holds their wand. Does that make sense?"

A few people nodded.

"Question, Ali."

"Yes, Andrew?"

"How do you know what… uh… show you are, and then, how do you know how you're supposed to do it?"

"Great question. You're supposed to figure that out on your own. Now, finding yourself is not an easy task. So, I've made this assignment a 2 month project. Savvy?"

"Aye." Andrew said, scratching his head.

"Ali?"

"Yes, Emily?"

"What's your show? Can you show us a demonstration?"

"No. I can't show you mine until you show me yours. But I will show you what I sort of mean."

Ali took out the rose from her pocket once more. That was the rose she had used to fill her cup with water and to take the locket from his pocket…

"Let's say you think your inner heart is a dramatic one. Then, you would try something like this." Ali held the rose high above her head and put her other arm outstretched. The class laughed lightly.

"Funny, eh? Well, if I were actually a dramatic person, a _wingardium leviosa _would make this fly instead of float."

The classroom filled with ohh's and ahh's.

Hermione raised her hand.

"Yes, Hermione?"

"How come we never learned about these before, or I've never read about them?"

"Because, people don't bother with these. Wizards and witches are too busy these days to spend a bit of their time trying to find the perfect performance for them. And many people think shows are childish and sometimes just jokes but trust me, it works. Finding your show is a very time consuming process, you know."

"How do you know if you've found it?"

"You feel it." Ali said, grinning widely.

"Enough questions. I want to tell you what'll be happening the day you're supposed to have your shows performed to me but you don't have it."

The class quieted down.

"If you haven't found it by the time of 2 months, you have 3 choices. Numero uno. You can ask for 2 more months and give me a list of every personality you've tried. Numero dos. You can sit there and do nothing about it. And, numero tres… you can go as Plain Jane."

"What's…"

"Hold yourself. Plain Jane is the way you normally hold your wand… the way you learned it."

The whole class smiled and nodded. Being slackers, that was their obvious choice.

"But… let me tell you one thing. If you want to go as plain Jane, you're going to have problems. See, not many people are plain Jane. So if you come to class declaring that you're Plain Jane, I'll tell you that you can't be because being Plain Jane is very rare and so therefore, you can't be Plain Jane because you're not plain, and you're rare! So being Plain Jane can't even exist so therefore you are stuck with numero uno or dos." Ali laughed.

"Wha… I didn't get that."

"Just… you can't go as Plain Jane because then, you won't be plain. Get it? We have half an hour left. Try any charm or spell you know and try different shows. I'll give you the rest of the class time to do so."

The class erupted into pandemonium. Every student began to mutter every charm they can think of, holding their wands a different way each time. Ali walked around, laughing and giggling.

"Ernie…" Ali studied him carefully as he tried to levitate a quill. "Think you are… organized huh? Good choice. It fits you well, especially because it's hard to find a way to show 'organized.' But I don't think it's yours. Try something more…" Ali studied Ernie harder. "loyal. Responsible. Determined." She advised as she hopped off to Blaise Zabini, the only Slytherin in the class.

"Ah… Mr. Zabini. Think you are beautiful?" Ali studied him. "You certainly are, but it's not yours… try something more edgy…" Ali tapped her nose. "Nosy?" She shrugged. "Arrogant?"

Ron doubled over laughing.

"Ronald, let's see yours."

"Uh… uh…"

"Cone on… don't make me force you to." She said, pulling out the rose once more.

"Ali, what is that?" Hermione butt in, pointing at the rose.

"This? This is my wand."

"How'd you… why'd you…"

"Because it's pretty like this! Don't you think?" Ali exclaimed, smelling her rose.

"Yeah. Could you teach me…"

"I'm afraid I can't. It's terribly difficult and not advised for students. What are you smirking at, Harry. Come on, let's see you try your shows."

Harry straightened up. "I'm not sure what kind…"

"Do the first thing that comes to mind."

Bold.

Harry let his wand fall sharply at his side. He then raised it up quickly and levitated a quill.

The class seemed to have quieted down.

"Go on now…" Ali said, waving away the other students. She faced Harry. "Bold, eh? That certainly describes you. But it's not it."

"This is unbelievable. I can't think of anything! Can't you help me?"

"Nope. And you know what, Harry? I know what you show is. I know exactly what it is."

"What…"

"I'm not telling. I'll give you 2 choices. You can either… figure it out on your own…" Ali smelled her rose wand once more. "Or… you can go as Plain Jane." She grinned widely when the bell rang and she shooed them all away.

"NEXT TIME IS DUELING… Come prepared!"

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

"What'd she want, Harry?"

"She… she knows I have a horcrux. I don't think she knows it's Voldemort's, but she knows I have one and she sensed it."

"Are you serious? How did she do that?"

"I don't know. She's smart."

"Do you think you should tell her?"

Ron and Harry both answered, "No."

"But…"

"I don't know if I can trust her. I mean. She gave me the wrong location to my parent's g-grave."

"Yes, but you know it was probably a mistake because you said the waitress said that they were moved last minute there."

"Still."

"Harry, I just don't feel comfortable to know that we're not getting any more help now. Losing… losing D-Dumbledore was like losing a whole army."

"I can do it."

"Oh, I know you can, but don't you think you… well, the thing is I don't know if you'll be lucky again at finding more horcruxes."

Before Harry's temper boiled over the edge, an owl crashed into the Common room window.

"Ali's owl…" Harry unfolded the parchment.

_Hey, Harry. Occlumency tonight at 8. Come prepared. You're not leaving until you get it. _

_-Ali_

_P.S- bring that locket if you can._

Harry checked the clock. It was 7.

"What does she want?"

"Occlumency tonight."

Ron laughed. "You're starting again? Good luck mate."

"Yeah, yeah. I'll need that. She's not letting me go until I get it."

Ron laughed, but Hermione rolled her eyes.

"Well, I think it's a very good method."

"Yeah, I thought you'll say something like that." Ron said, leaning back in his chair.

"Well, really! I was very shocked Snape just let you go like that."

"Well, he ended up being on the bad side, didn't he?"

"Still. Now, you're sure to be a great occlumens. And, you know now she can't be on the bad side because she's so willing to help you. So that means you could…"

"Hermione…" Harry said, standing up. He found it made people intimidated. "Not yet, okay?"

Hermione blew the hair out of her eyes and went back to reading.

"I'm going to go now." Harry said, feeling the tension in the room.

"Bye."

"Bye."

Harry nodded to his friends as he walked out of the portrait. It won't hurt to be late, right?

"HARRY!"

He turned to see Ali running towards him.

"What are you doing? Occlumency's at 8."

"Thought I'll drop by earlier. Is that okay?"

"Yeah. Yeah. Sure. I was getting some food." She said as she held up a bag.

"Biscotti?"

"No thanks."

"Muffin?"

"No thanks."

"Biscuit?"

"No thanks."

"Are you on a diet?"

"No."

She shoved a chocolate frog into his hands.

"You'll need it. Follow me. You better be ready for a long night, Mr. Potter."

"Okay… it can't hurt that much, can it?"

Ali laughed.

When the reached her classroom, she pushed the desks to the side to leave some room. She faced him.

"Let's see how far you've gone."

"I really haven't…"

"Think about the first person you ever killed."

"What? I've never-"

"Don't ask. Just think about the first person you ever killed. Don't think about anything but that person."

Harry opened his mouth to object, but she shushed him.

"Think…"

Nothing came to him. He hadn't killed anyone! What was he supposed to think about? He tried to think of someone he'd killed but nothing came.

He barely heard her whisper _Legilimens. _

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Muahahaha. Okay. That was like the longest chapter I've ever wrote. I can't believe how long the chapters are for this story.

I hope you guys liked it... I've finished the LAST CHAPTER (I coudn't resist.) ! It's going to be one hell of a chapter. And I started on chapter 5.

Thanks for reviewing everyone! You guys are tooooooo sweet. I love you! Hehe. Review again! ;)

Ta ta


	5. The Feather

Harry wasn't sure if it worked.

At first, memories raced by him and he could feel Ali reading them all. But at the same time, there was a great loud screaming noise ringing into his ears as well. His head burned.

"Stop!" He cried desperately.

He felt her break her stare.

"You're not as bad as you said, Harry. I can see into your head, but I can't hear anything."

Harry nodded, breathing heavily.

"Here." She took the chocolate that she had left on the tables and tried to shove it into his mouth. Warmth spread all throughout his body.

"Tell me when you're ready. You just need to know to block out everything. You've got some of it down."

Harry shoved his hands into his pockets and felt both lockets. He wrapped his hand around the fake one. The fake locket that had taken his headmaster's life.

Failure was not a choice.

"I'm ready."

"Okay. Now look out the window."

He did. There was just blackness. No stars, no moons…

"Think about all the stars you see right now."

He began to understand Ali's method. When Snape had just forced him to think about 'nothing,' he had to think about thinking nothing. Ali made him think about something that was nothing. So that way, Harry thought of… nothing. For Harry had never killed anyone, so therefore had to think of nothing and there were no stars…

_Legilimens _

Flashes of his childhood appeared. It was like a broken movie screen. There would be a flash of colors and it would be blackness. There was a broken tape recorder in the back ground.

His head still burned.

She lifted her gaze.

"Very nice. You're not too bad. See, you can do it! This time, everything was really broken. I couldn't really see anything and neither could I hear anything."

"I'm only getting close because I don't have Snape teaching me."

"I'll take that as a compliment. Have some chocolate."

Harry gratefully gobbled up the brown sweetness.

"Now… Think about that moon out there."

And then, there was blackness.

Harry was awoken by a whoop of joy.

"YOU DID IT! YOU DID IT!"

"What? I did?"

"Did you see anything? Nope. That was very good. If you want, we could go on, but you could go back if you wish. Next time, I'll try to get you to do it normally."

Harry nodded gleefully, taking a chocolate. "Thanks Ali! You're a pretty good teacher."

"Why, thank you. I wanted to ask you about the locket… but… I don't think this is the time. Try practicing thinking about nothing for a while, okay? So you don't have to stay all night next time."

Harry nodded, waved, and began walking back to the common room. He was amazed he had finally done it in his third try. He wasn't sure if he had just gotten better or his teacher did.

"Harry!" Hermione and Ron jumped away from each other when he came in.

"Are you guys always snogging when I'm away?" He smirked.

"You're back? Already?"

"Yeah. Ali's pretty good."

"Apparently. Did it work? How'd she do it?" Hermione asked in a very curious manner.

"Well… I don't know. At first, she made me think about the first person I killed. And I couldn't think of anyone, you know? And when she did it, it was sort of like watching a muted movie with someone screaming in the back. I got it on the third try. She made me think about the moon."

"That's great, Harry! I always knew you could do it." Hermione said, beaming.

"Yeah. Now you've got a hot teacher…" Ron started, but stopped immediately.

"Not as hot as you…" Ron said looking at Hermione's glaring face.

Hermione rolled her eyes.

"Ronald…"

Ron blushed as he nuzzled her nose.

"You know you're the only one I see."

Hermione rolled her eyes once more and giggled.

Harry smirked, retreating quickly to his room.

He couldn't stand to stay there while his two best friends made out.

Covering his bed sheets over him, Harry succumbed into a peaceful dreamless sleep.

OOO

"You know what, Hermione? I think you're right." Harry said at breakfast one day.

She raised an eyebrow. "Oh?"

"Yeah. I think I can trust Ali now. I mean, she taught me Occlumency completely, you know? Why would someone who works for Voldemort teach me Occlumency and teach me until I actually get it?"

Hermione smiled. "Exactly. She's in the Order, Harry. You can trust her. Ask her about the horcruxes now. She knows about them, doesn't she?"

Harry smiled and gave no answer. He wanted to run up to her and tell her everything, the whole story about Voldemort and Dumbledore and horcruxes but the other half of him, the fake locket reminded him of failure.

He was scared.

And scared Harry was since the day Dumbledore died. He was terrified of trusting someone and losing it all. He knew once he told her about the horcruxes, he was putting the amount of truth, trust, and weight on her that Dumbledore and bestowed to him.

And then, every day, Hermione nagged him about asking her but he never got the gut to do so.

Harry found himself more into school than he hoped he would be. He would join his classmates in finding their "show." There were rumors that Ernie had managed to pull his off. When the students clamored around him to ask how he figured it out, he simply shrugged and said, "It just feels right. You'll feel complete."

A week before the assignment was due, Hermione came skipping to him happily.

"Harry! Let's go!"

"Where?"

"Ron and I are going to Ali to ask her for some opinions. If you think about it, the people that she helped were the first to get it. Zabini figured his out."

"Hermione, I'm sort of busy right now."

"Doing what?"

"Stuff."

"You can't spare 10 minutes to ask Ali about something?"

Putting down his book, Harry got up. "Okay. Fine. But I'm asking first." He said quickly as he ran off to beat his friends to Ali's classroom.

"HARRY!" Hermione screamed, laughing.

When Harry ran into her room, he was taken back to find her in a deep conversation with a dark coated man in the shadows.

"Hello, Harry."

"Har-ow!" Harry said, Ron and Hermione running into him.

"Sorry."

"Is there anything you three need?"

"Yes. I asked you earlier today if we can drop by to ask you about the show project?" Hermione asked.

"Oh my lord! I've totally forgot about that." She turned to the dark man. His cloak was large, baggy, and dark. Harry could barely make out the face under it.

"Thomas, meet Harry, Hermione, and Ron. They're my students. Guys, this is Thomas. He's a friend from where I'm from."

"Hello."

"Huh." He replied.

"Well, Thomas, I'll see you again sometime."

"Huh."

And Thomas swiftly left the room.

"Wow. He certainly is social isn't he?" Ron said.

"Thomas is actually very cool. He was abused as a child and he's very suppressed but once you get over his physical appearance, you'll see he's actually a very passionate person, Ronald. Now, you wanted to know about your shows?"

"Yeah. We're having trouble."

"Well, how far are you?"

"Nowhere."

"So you want hints?"

"Yes."

"I'm first." Harry exclaimed loudly.

Ali laughed. "I don't really want to help you, Potter."

"What? That's not fair!"

"You're supposedly a fantastic student and brilliant in this category of magic. I'm surprised you need help."

"I DO!"

"Sure you do."

"Could you PLEASE just give me a clue?"

"Fine." Ali said, looking at him silently. After a few moments, she spoke again.

"Potter, this is not a good time to be closing your mind."

"Sorry. It comes naturally now."

"Because I'm such a great teacher. Wow. Too much thought, Harry. Block SOME of it." Ali cried.

Harry turned beet red. "Sorry."

"It's part of growing up. Well, Harry. All I can tell you is that it's not just any regular personality. Look for something that's not normally used as an adjective to describe someone but can be used to uh compare someone to."

"…huh?"

"That's it! I said it. I'm not the kind to repeat myself. Who's next?"

"Me!" Ron said.

"Ronald Weasley." Hermione said sternly, imitating his mother. It worked. Ron curled into his fetal position and slunk away.

"Hermione. I know you've been thinking about doing something organized and smart but they really have nothing to do with your personality." Ali said slowly.

"Uh huh."

"And, I don't want to give you an adjective because you're so smart, you'll get it in an instance."

"Okay."

"I'll ask you just one thing."

"Yes?"

"What kind of person were you before you came to Hogwarts?"

"A-" Hermione started.

"No! I don't want to hear it because it's wrong. That question was not one that was meant for you to answer as if you were in a classroom. You need to think about it. Don't try to recite what you've told everyone." Ali cut her off and beckoned for Ron.

"Mr. Weasley."

"Miss Bishop."

"Let me just tell you one thing. You know what it is. It's in your head. But you're being either embarrassed about it or modest. Don't be like that. Be who you know you are and it'll work out."

"Uh…"

"I am a professional legilimens. When I look at you, it's all that screams to me. It means that it's on your mind and not hidden inside it."

"Uh. Th-thanks."

"Anytime. Wow. I really haven't had anyone ask me yet. Don't tell anyone else to come to me. Doing you three is hard enough."

Hermione nudged Harry. Harry shook his head.

"No? Why are you shaking your head?" Ali asked.

"Uh. Uh. Nothing. Really. Absolutely nothing."

"Then nothing it is. Good night."

Hermione glared at him as Harry shrugged.

"Good night."

OOOOOOOOOOOOO

And time flew, marking the end of the 2 month period that they had to find their shows. About half of the class was successful and the other half was not.

Hermione has achieved what she thought was her show. When Harry and Ron asked her about it, she said that it wasn't exactly right but it was better than when she usually did it in her previous years. Ron and Harry still struggled and began to make their lists.

Ali Bishop was unusually happy that day.

"I'm so excited to see your shows. Everyone- to the Great Hall." She said in the beginning of class.

The classroom followed her flowing gold skirt to the Great Hall where they had finished their breakfast just hours before.

The tables were pushed to the side and there was a small center stage in the middle.

"Everyone take seats in the Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw tables. I will call you individually to see your show. You will levitate that feather on the ground." Ali said, pointing to the green feather that sat on the ground silently.

"Hannah Abbott."

One by one, the students filed up in the lines to show their personal touch of magic.

"Hermione Granger."

Hermione breathed once more and Ron patted her back. "You'll do fine." She gave a weak grin before making her way onstage.

"Wingardium Leviosa." She said. Hermione made a large 'X' with her wand before directing it at the feather. The feather rose up into the ceiling and began to vibrate.

"Very nice! Very nice indeed!" Ali complimented, running towards where Hermione was standing. So far, Hermione's levitating charm had been the most successful at being stronger than a normal charm.

"However, if it had truly been your show, it would have begun to shake. However, you being the first to manage it, I will give you full points. Hermione, come here." Ali said. Hermione leaned down and Ali put her mouth to Hermione's ear and whispered something. Soon, Hermione beamed and leaped off.

"What'd she say?" Ron asked.

"Oh. Just what my show really is."

"What'd you do in the first place?"

"I'm not telling."

Ron frowned and turned to Harry.

"Good luck."

"Yeah, I'll be needing that."

"Next, Harry." Ali cried.

He had never been so nervous before. With the whole class including Ali herself watching his ever move, he stretched out his wand hand parallel to the ground, and his wand itself parallel to his straight body. With one casual down-ward flick, he muttered "Wingardium Leviosa."

The whole class held their breath.

The feather did not budge, but slowly, it began to glow a deep green color.

Harry turned to Ali.

"Uh…"

Ali stood paralyzed on the side. When the feather began to glow even darker, she snapped her head up.

"Everyone. Leave this room immediately." When nobody moved, she shook out her rose wand from her back pockets, pointed at the doors and caused them to burst open. Quickly, the class scrambled out frantically, few girls screaming and people tripping. Harry took one look back and just barely managed to make out Ali Bishop advancing toward the feather, and finally locking herself inside the Great Hall.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Soon the news spread of Harry's green feather. Ron and Hermione made small quick glances toward him every time they passed a group of students whispering about it rather loudly.

Harry spared them no thought.

He knew something about it that he hadn't resided to anyone else about.

When he had cast the charm on the feather, the feather did not begin to vibrate like Hermione's but rather, his outer thigh did. For the rest of the day, Harry could not concentrate on any of his work and rather, he retreated to his dorm early to think.

Stretching out on the bed, there was a small clink on the floor beside him.

Groaning, Harry turned over on his bed to pick it up when the locket caught his eye.

The edges of the gold circle had become a light green and the top of it had become scratched up from being rubbed against the fake horcrux that Harry held in his pocket as well.

Harry bolted up from his laid back position.

He didn't have time for his friends wondering about all these mysteries with him. What he needed was answers. And he finally took up the risk to find them.

Because he knew where to go.

Ali Bishop.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Duh duh duh duh duh duh! What happens next?

That's for me to know and you to find out if you review: ) I know it's been long but please please please? I already started the next chapter because I'm so worked up right now.

Love always

Youngwriter.


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